Welcome to Former Insomniac with Ivo H.K., founder at End Insomnia. After suffering from insomnia for 5 brutal years and trying "everything" to fix it, I developed a new approach targeting the root cause of insomnia: sleep anxiety (or the fear of sleeplessness). In this podcast, I talk about the End Insomnia System and I share tips, learnings, and insights from overcoming insomnia and tell the stories of people who did so you can apply the principles to end insomnia for good, too.
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Nov 14, 2026 · 4:28
During my 5 brutal years of insomnia, I tried every trick that existed. And I mean every one. Each one worked for about 3 nights, and then I was back where I started. The turn…
Nov 7, 2026 · 4:27
By the end of my 5 brutal years of insomnia, I had a lot of sleep rules. My hardest one was no liquids 4 hours before bed. I was thirsty the whole night. And I still told myself…
Oct 31, 2026 · 4:29
For most of my 5 brutal years of insomnia, I called myself an insomniac. Out loud, to other people, and in my own head. It felt like the truth. Looking back, calling myself an…
Oct 24, 2026 · 4:25
[FIRST NAME GOES HERE], During my 5 brutal years of insomnia, I tried pretty much everything. Pills, supplements, weighted blankets, gadgets, anything really. What actually…
Oct 17, 2026 · 4:37
For most of my 5 brutal years of insomnia, I didn’t want anyone to know how bad it was. We don’t want to be seen as weak. We prefer to appear tough. I was like that. But deep…
Oct 10, 2026 · 4:35
During my 5 brutal years of insomnia, I spent months thinking there must be something seriously wrong with me. And at 3 am, the voice in my head was not nice. “What’s wrong with…
Oct 3, 2026 · 4:31
For 5 brutal years I told myself the same thing. Once I sleep normally again, everything else in my life is going to be fine. So I put everything on one number. The hours I got…
Sep 26, 2026 · 4:44
During my 5 brutal years of insomnia, my whole life got smaller. I stopped making plans. I stopped doing things I enjoy. And a couple of hours of work tired me out completely. I…
Sep 19, 2026 · 4:11
I used to wake up foggy. Counted the hours. And then decided that the day is going to be ruined. During my 5 brutal years of insomnia, just a couple of hours of work tired me out…
Sep 12, 2026 · 4:30
You have probably thought some version of this. “Once I fix my sleep, everything will be better. I’ll feel like me again. I’ll finally be happy.” That makes sense. Sleep feels…
Sep 5, 2026 · 4:42
When insomnia drags on, most people start shrinking their life. It happens slowly. And every choice makes sense at the time. You say no to plans because you are too tired. You…
Aug 29, 2026 · 4:47
Here is something that might surprise you. How you feel after a rough night has less to do with how much you slept. And more to do with how you spent the hours you were awake.…
Aug 22, 2026 · 5:01
There are two things almost everybody with insomnia does at night. Both of them feed the alarm in your brain. And both feel so automatic you might not even notice you’re doing…
Aug 15, 2026 · 4:09
Here's what I used to do at night when I had insomnia before I finally fixed it. A book. A podcast. A show. I listened to a video. Something I like that can take my mind off of…
Aug 8, 2026 · 4:27
Here is an idea that might sound strange at first. What if your goal at night was not to fall asleep? What if it was just to feel calm, even while you are awake? I know that…
Aug 1, 2026 · 4:26
Try this. Set a timer for five minutes. Sit still. Just watch what your brain does. You might start by noticing something in the room. That reminds you of yesterday. That reminds…
Jul 25, 2026 · 4:21
Here is something that sounds simple but is hard to live by. Just because you think something does not make it true. We treat our thoughts like they are facts. A thought shows…
Jul 18, 2026 · 4:23
There is a kind of thinking that keeps insomnia going. If you have been awake at 3 a.m., you know it well. One thought shows up. "If I don't sleep soon, tomorrow will be ruined."…
Jul 11, 2026 · 4:28
Some feelings are really hard to sit with. Like when you feel scared at bedtime. Or upset after another bad night. Or worried about how tomorrow will go. When a feeling like this…
Jul 4, 2026 · 4:54
Picture this. You're standing at the edge of a bottomless pit. On the other side stands a monster, huge, terrifying, impossibly strong. A rope stretches across the pit between…
Jun 27, 2026 · 5:26
Acceptance is one of those words that gets misunderstood constantly, especially when it comes to insomnia. So let's clear it up, because understanding it correctly might be the…
Jun 20, 2026 · 5:54
Here's a secret that sounds almost too strange to be true: sleeping well consistently comes from caring less about sleeping well. I know how that lands when you're desperate for…
Jun 13, 2026 · 5:22
The hour before bed can make or break your night. Not because of some magic routine that guarantees sleep, but because of how you approach it. Most people with insomnia spend…
Jun 6, 2026 · 4:53
If you could only change one thing about your sleep schedule, this would be it: get out of bed at about the same time every single day. Not your bedtime. Your wake time. That's…
May 30, 2026 · 4:44
It seems obvious. If you're not getting enough sleep, give yourself more chances to sleep. Go to bed earlier. Stay in bed later. Maximize the opportunity. It's one of the most…
May 23, 2026 · 5:26
There are two ideas about sleep that almost everyone with insomnia believes. Both feel like facts. Both fuel anxiety. And both deserve a serious reality check. Belief #1: You…
May 16, 2026 · 5:15
How Long Until You Recover From Insomnia? This is probably the question you want answered most. And I wish I could give you a clean number. But the honest answer is: it depends,…
May 9, 2026 · 5:53
What if one of the most effective things you could do for your sleep takes about six seconds and involves saying a single sentence to yourself? It sounds too simple. But there's…
May 2, 2026 · 5:03
After a rough night, most of us write off the next day before it even starts. You wake up groggy, check the mental scoreboard of how many hours you got, and immediately forecast…
Apr 25, 2026 · 5:16
You’ve probably had some version of this thought: “Once I fix my sleep, everything will be better. I’ll feel like myself again. I’ll finally be happy.” It makes sense. Sleep…
Apr 18, 2026 · 5:39
When insomnia drags on, most people start shrinking their lives. It happens gradually, and every decision feels logical at the time. You stop saying yes to social plans because…
Apr 11, 2026 · 5:48
Here’s something that might surprise you: How you feel the day after a rough night has a lot less to do with how much you slept - and a lot more to do with how you spent the…
Mar 28, 2026 · 5:31
Here’s a radical idea for your next 2 a.m. wake-up: instead of lying there in misery, willing yourself to sleep, do something pleasant instead. Read a book. Listen to a podcast.…
Mar 21, 2026 · 6:22
Here’s a question worth sitting with: What if your goal at night wasn’t to fall asleep—but to find genuine peace while awake? That probably sounds absurd. You’re reading this…
Mar 14, 2026 · 4:37
When you’re lying awake at 2 a.m. with a thought like “I can’t take another night of this,” it feels like that thought IS your reality. It feels solid, heavy, and permanent—like…
Mar 7, 2026 · 4:06
Here's something that sounds obvious but is surprisingly hard to live by: just because you think something doesn't make it true. We treat our thoughts like they're authoritative.…
Feb 28, 2026 · 4:03
There's a specific kind of thinking that fuels insomnia—and if you've been awake at 3 a.m., you know exactly what it feels like. A single thought lands, and suddenly you're…
Feb 21, 2026 · 5:40
Acceptance is one of the most powerful tools for loosening insomnia's grip. But here's the thing: understanding acceptance intellectually and practicing it are two very different…
Feb 14, 2026 · 5:03
What if a huge portion of your sleep-related suffering is actually optional? That might sound dismissive—it's not. Stick with me, because this reframe changed how I think about…
Feb 7, 2026 · 5:35
When insomnia takes hold, it does more than steal your sleep. It creates fear. It creates urgency. And it creates a constant sense that something is wrong with you. Your body…
Jan 31, 2026 · 2:47
Sometimes staying in bed while awake makes everything worse. Your body feels tense. Your thoughts race. Your heart feels loud. You feel trapped between wanting sleep and fearing…
Jan 24, 2026 · 3:40
When you are awake in bed and anxious, doing nothing often makes things worse. Silence gives your mind too much room. And when your mind has space at night, it fills it with…
Jan 17, 2026 · 5:00
When you are awake at night, and you do not want to be, your instinct is usually to fight it. You try to sleep harder. You try to relax. You try to calm your thoughts. You try to…
Jan 10, 2026 · 7:02
If you have insomnia, you already know this: An anxious thought can feel like a threat. Not just an idea. A threat. And when your brain senses a threat, it does what it was…
Jan 3, 2026 · 6:39
Managing anxious thoughts deserves special attention. Anxious thoughts are one of the main drivers of insomnia. It is common for anxious thoughts to ramp up as night approaches.…
Dec 27, 2025 · 7:36
{{ subscriber.first_name }}, Insomnia creates intense discomfort. Fear. Helplessness. A sense of being trapped. But… Consistent good sleep comes from caring less about sleep.…
Dec 20, 2025 · 6:28
If you are rebuilding normal sleep, one daytime habit matters more than most people realize. It is not what you do in bed. It is what you do before you ever get there.…
Dec 13, 2025 · 6:01
If you want to break out of insomnia, we need to start with something simple. Not easy. But simple. You need to dial up the Sleep Starting Force. This is not about forcing sleep.…
Dec 6, 2025 · 7:51
If you are starting a real insomnia recovery path, there is one thing you need to know upfront. You did not get stuck in insomnia overnight. So you are not going to get out of it…
Nov 29, 2025 · 6:56
If you’re like many people struggling with insomnia, you’ve probably heard of CBT-i. Maybe you even tried it. Or maybe you’ve been told it’s your best shot at fixing your sleep.…
Nov 22, 2025 · 6:29
If you’ve ever thought: “I did all the right things and I still couldn’t sleep…” You’re not alone. And you’re not doing anything wrong. The truth is, most of the things people…
Nov 15, 2025 · 5:29
If you’re like most people with chronic insomnia, you’ve probably tried a lot of things to fix it. Pills Relaxation exercises Strict wind-down routines Endless adjustments to…
Nov 8, 2025 · 7:11
If you feel like you’ve tried everything to fix your sleep and nothing has worked, there’s a reason for that. It’s not because you’re failing. It’s not because your brain is…
Nov 1, 2025 · 6:25
If you’re struggling with chronic insomnia, it’s not because you haven’t tried hard enough. It’s not because you’re broken. And it’s not because you haven’t found the right sleep…
Oct 25, 2025 · 3:49
If you’ve ever wondered how your insomnia actually started and why it’s been so hard to fix… this email is for you. Because insomnia develops in a fairly predictable way. And the…
Oct 18, 2025 · 4:54
I and 100s of others have used the End Insomnia System to recover from insomnia for good and sleep great again for life. Have you ever had doubts that a new system that goes…
Oct 11, 2025 · 4:47
I know how terrifying insomnia can be. I’ve lived through it myself for 5 brutal years. I created the End Insomnia System because nothing else worked. And I tried everything .…
Oct 4, 2025 · 4:05
If you’re like many people with long-term insomnia, you’ve probably tried everything. Pills. Teas. Blackout curtains. Supplements. Sleep hygiene checklists. You’ve rearranged…
Sep 27, 2025 · 6:19
If you’ve been seeing progress in your sleep, that’s something to celebrate. It means the End Insomnia System is working for you. But let me be upfront about something most…
Sep 20, 2025 · 5:50
If you’ve been working through insomnia, it’s normal to feel unsure where you are on the journey or whether progress is even happening. The truth is, there is a rough path most…
Sep 13, 2025 · 5:15
Making progress with insomnia isn’t just about what you do. It’s also about how you think. Certain beliefs and mental loops can keep you stuck in the cycle of poor sleep, while…
Sep 6, 2025 · 5:33
If you’re stuck in a cycle of poor sleep and constant fatigue, you might think what you need is another strategy to help you fall asleep at night. But here’s the real secret: You…
Aug 30, 2025 · 3:47
Let’s talk about something that doesn’t get enough attention when it comes to insomnia: How you treat yourself when things are hard. Most people are kinder to others than they…
Aug 23, 2025 · 4:13
Your resilience during insomnia grows when you stop trying to “fix” the pain you experience - and instead start living in a way that reflects what matters most to you. Let’s take…
Aug 16, 2025 · 4:30
Let’s face it: life is hard. And the longer you struggle with insomnia, the more this truth becomes undeniable. In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - and in Buddhist philosophy…
Aug 9, 2025 · 5:17
If you’ve ever woken up after a rough night and felt like canceling your day before it even started, you’re not alone. The daytime consequences of insomnia can feel exhausting,…
Aug 2, 2025 · 3:14
You’ve tried mindfulness. You’ve tried pleasant distractions. But now it’s 3 am, and you feel like you’re crawling out of your skin. Get out of bed. This might feel…
Jul 26, 2025 · 4:41
You’re awake. Again. You’ve tried deep breathing. You’ve tried mindfulness. Maybe it helped a little—or maybe it didn’t. If you’re feeling restless, irritated, or just plain done…
Jul 19, 2025 · 5:19
You’ve been lying in bed, wide awake. Again. You check the clock. You do the math. “If I fall asleep now, I’ll get 4 hours.” But your mind is racing. You’re frustrated. Tense.…
Jul 12, 2025 · 3:49
Last time we discussed challenging your anxious thoughts. But sometimes, that alone isn’t enough. That’s where the second technique comes in: changing your relationship with your…
Jul 5, 2025 · 5:22
Anxiety-fueled thoughts are one of the main drivers of insomnia. As night approaches, anxious thoughts tend to ramp up. Then they often return with a vengeance in the middle of…
Jun 28, 2025 · 3:53
If you’ve struggled with insomnia, you know this isn’t just about feeling tired. It’s about the suffering that comes with not sleeping. The fear. The frustration. The feeling…
Jun 21, 2025 · 4:51
You might be doing all the “right” things to improve your sleep… But if your mind is stuck in the same place—anxious, tense, and desperate to sleep—you’re unknowingly making it…
Jun 14, 2025 · 3:11
In the last episode, I shared three practical ways to help you stop spiraling when you’re awake at night. Today, let’s look at what not to do. Because often, we unintentionally…
Jun 7, 2025 · 3:55
If you’ve ever been awake at 2 a.m., staring at the ceiling, wishing you could just turn your brain off , you’re not alone. Most people think their only goal at night should be…
May 31, 2025 · 5:27
Let’s talk about how to deal with anxious thoughts in a new way—one that doesn’t involve fighting them. Earlier, you learned how to challenge scary or extreme thoughts. That can…
May 24, 2025 · 4:38
Let’s talk about thoughts—especially the ones that pop up when you’re trying to sleep. Anxious thoughts are one of the biggest reasons people can’t fall asleep or stay asleep.…
May 17, 2025 · 6:13
Sometimes, it’s not just the lack of sleep that makes you feel bad during the day. It’s the way you react to it. And that reaction can make things way harder than they need to…
May 10, 2025 · 6:05
Let’s talk about something that might surprise you: sleeping better often comes from caring less about sleep. That may sound strange, but it’s true. When we stop stressing and…
May 3, 2025 · 6:55
One of the best ways to help your body sleep better is to build up what we call your Sleep-Starting Force. That means helping your body feel sleepy at the right time. It has two…
Apr 26, 2025 · 4:46
Insomnia doesn’t happen overnight. It starts with worry about sleep, behaviors that don’t help, and a nervous system that’s too alert. These things build slowly over time. So,…
Apr 19, 2025 · 8:53
CBT-i (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia) is often called the "gold standard" for treating insomnia. However, while CBT-i does help some people, others find that it…
Apr 12, 2025 · 6:12
You might remember times when you did something special, and it felt like it helped you sleep. Maybe you took a pill, did a bedtime ritual, or tried a particular trick, and slept…
Apr 5, 2025 · 6:51
People who have trouble sleeping try many different things during the day and before bedtime to sleep "better" at night. These habits (Sleep Efforts) often seem helpful, but they…
Mar 29, 2025 · 4:48
Have you ever tried really hard to fall asleep, only to end up wide awake and feeling more frustrated than ever? This happens because trying to force yourself to sleep makes…
Mar 22, 2025 · 3:55
Today, we’re going to discuss what you can do to naturally help your body prepare for sleep without feeling stressed about it. First, let’s talk about something called the…
Mar 15, 2025 · 5:05
If you've ever had trouble sleeping, you've probably tried many different things to help you sleep better. Maybe you've tried drinking special teas, taking sleeping pills, or…
Mar 8, 2025 · 5:01
If you have insomnia, you’re probably exhausted. You’ve probably tried many things already. You’ve worked hard to sleep better, but nothing has helped. You’re not lazy—you’ve put…
Mar 1, 2025 · 5:42
Just two forces control sleep. We call them the sleep-starting force and the sleep-stopping force. The Sleep-Starting Force The sleep-starting force is what makes sleep happen.…
Feb 22, 2025 · 5:15
You might feel like nothing can help your sleep. Maybe you’ve tried doctors and therapists or searched the internet for answers. Maybe you feel like no one really understands…
Feb 15, 2025 · 5:31
If you’ve ever tried to get help for your sleep problems—whether from doctors, therapists, or online sources—you might have felt like no one truly understands what you’re going…
Feb 8, 2025 · 4:10
As you improve your sleep, know that setbacks are completely normal. In fact, they are part of the process. Almost everyone who has overcome insomnia has had some ups and downs…
Feb 4, 2025 · 5:38
Back then, during my 5 brutal years of insomnia, I used to wonder: “What do the steps out of insomnia look like?” “How long does the recovery take?” Here’s the breakdown: Phase…
Jan 25, 2025 · 4:08
One thing that can make working through insomnia easier, faster, and maybe even a little more pleasant is finding the right kind of support. Why Get Support? You can try to…
Jan 18, 2025 · 5:50
Today, I want to share several mindsets that are important to hold while on your journey to overcome insomnia. 1. You Are NOT an “Insomniac” 2. Rough Nights Can Be an Opportunity…
Jan 11, 2025 · 4:19
Sometimes, we treat ourselves worse than we would ever treat another person. Our inner voice can be highly critical or even cruel, especially when we’re going through emotional…
Jan 4, 2025 · 5:28
When we struggle with insomnia, it’s easy to focus solely on goals like “sleeping better” or “waking up refreshed.” While having sleep-related goals is understandable, tying your…
Dec 28, 2024 · 5:01
Working through insomnia often means examining everyday choices. For many, this includes decisions about caffeine and alcohol—two everyday pleasures that may feel off-limits when…
Dec 21, 2024 · 5:24
The daytime consequences of insomnia can feel overwhelming. When you wake up exhausted and feel drained throughout the day, dreading the nights ahead is easy. Over time, this…
Dec 14, 2024 · 6:03
During insomnia, you might feel strange body sensations at night. For example, you might: • Feel a sudden jerk in your body just as you fall asleep (like a little twitch that…
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